Re: bauplan convergence

In a message dated 6/8/00 11:48:00 AM EST, twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com writes:
<< It's like that bugbear of an argument that flight in birds
probably evolved in an arboreal ancestor because it is "easier" to evolve
flight from the trees down than the ground up. >>
Not just "easier." I think the physics of the situation >completely
precludes< evolution of flight "ground up" in vertebrates. Energy to remain
aloft without already having well-developed, flightworthy wings is simply not
there. This falsifies the ground up hypothesis; drives a stake through its
heart.